Instantly, all of Tapper's previous annoyance disappeared.
'Mikken… huh?' He thought.
Tapper still retained his previous attitude. He didn't want to make his interest seem too obvious.
"Oh. I'm Tapper. Hello." He greeted.
"Hehe.. I don't know if you like books but Gary is a major bookworm. Like me! Tapper do you read The Sergas Brothers Saga? A new book just came out…"
"The remake of the legend about the triplets during the building of the New Era? Yes. It's good. But I'm a bigger fan of the version about their archenemy Riana." Tapper remembered reading that story to Roman.
Personally, he didn't care for any of these legendary characters. His master is the only legend. Wayde was much more real than any figure written on a page. And his presence and aura overshadow any fear and awe that he might have for already dead people.
"Riana lost to the Sergas. I prefer the story of the victors." Finan announced, slapping his hand on the table. "Riana was a loser!"
Gary looked down and said, "Riana got what she wanted. She didn't lose! Her presence in history is much more pronounced than the Sergas trio…"
Tapper looked at Gary and nodded. "She did die but she saved so many lives and established the foundations for five cities."
Gary smiled. "I admire Riana."
Finan looked a bit miffed that his friend didn't take his side but sighed in resignation. Tapper and Gary got along surprisingly well. Of course, bookworms with similar tastes speak the same language. He thought it was natural for it to happen.
Then, the students that could go home went home. Some of them, such as Tapper and Roman had applied for dormitories.
The dorms for nobles were wide and luxurious. It was one of the reasons why so many noble families chose to apply for Spectrum Education Institute.
Tapper and Roman shared a room. Since Tapper was still Roman's official personal attendant anyways.
***
"Hold the energy in you! Let it twist and twine. I don't care how but you just need to gather the Flow. Stop slacking off! Do you think I cannot tell if you are sleeping with your eyes open?!
*Slaps random innocent student*
"WAKE UP! What is this pathetic excuse for Flow?! Did you lose your energy sensory skills at home?! Look at him!
*points randomly behind him*
"See? Why can he do it but not you… useless! All you useless wastes of energy… $#*+%"
Boo roared at a female student who was close to tears.
Tapper held his ball of Flow, fascinated. It was not too big and not too small. He had a hard time conjuring it in the previous lesson but thanks to a bit of help from the kind Prof. Bandle, he could understand the concept more easily.
'Energy typically exists in many forms. There is the round type. The wisp type. The wave type. And much more varieties. The way to make a Flow ball is to find the right type for yourself and make it balance.' Bandle's accented voice had said.
All the civilian students in the class had a hard time. The noble children managed it with ease. Roman also had no problem.
Boo had gotten frustrated that he couldn't explain things properly. That added onto the fact that he was harder on civilian students made roaring a common occurrence in PE. It took a few days to get used to but zoning out is now one of Tapper's most proficient skills.
After class, all the noble children were comparing how much bigger their balls were. (Including the not so 'energy' references)
Tapper went off to join with Finan and Gary. Over this period of time, he had gotten to accept the eternally messy seaweed hair of Finan and was not so peeved anymore. Finan was outgoing and cheerful. This plus Tapper's innate urges to make verbal quirks made them good friends really quickly. Finan was interesting to be around.
Gary was quiet but when it came to a topic he was interested in. No one was capable of interrupting him.
"I'm thinking of joining the News team." Tapper said.
"I want to go into the broadcast team of Institution News Daily. They pay really well. If I don't make it to broadcast, then the newspaper team is good enough as well. They pay decently also. A lot of them are non nobles. You guys interested?"
"Taps, my bud-dy. The only thing in your head is the pay, right? The work load is huge. Too much for me. I think I'll pass." Finan said slouching with his feet on the table.
They were hanging out at the Basic Common Sense area's lunch table. Tapper had decisively given the hangout spot the moniker, "Cow shed".
"Well. If that is your choice, Finan. I know you will crash under the workload. Gary?"
"Wuh? Where's your faith in me, Taps?" Finan made an exaggerated motion of hurt.
"Um… I think… It flew away with your nonexistent grades." Gary interjected heartlessly.
"Ugh. Grades don't matter. They will always pick the nobles over us any day. Why bother?"
Gary spoke after pondering for a few moments. "I think I will pass too. News and gossip are not my thing."
"Guess it's just me then! I say that they pay really well."
They resumed eating their food.
"Ah right," Finan stretched and sat up, "By the way, Tapper… I kinda need your help."
Tapper finished his soup and said. "Okay shoot. What is it?"
"I'm going to… miss school for a few days. Some reasons at home.. this and that… you know. So my assignments for class will pile up. Can you help me do them?"
Tapper didn't say anything. He slowly put down his spoon and looked over. But he was smiling an expectant smile at Finan.
Finan sighed in exasperation. "I will pay you, okay? Fifty credits! Everything!"
Tapper's face immediately lit up warmly.
He stood up and walked over.
"Well I'm glad you understand me, my friend! Fear not, I will make sure your assignments are completed~~ haha..!"
He happily patted Finan on the back, his attitude having turned a complete one eighty. Finan looked on with his mouth agape.
How quickly did Tapper's personality change just now?
Fifty credits were a lot. Just that most of the non nobles are usually the children of rich families. Fifty credits? That was a breeze.
'I sure made myself a good deal~~! Finan, you and I are good now!'
Afternoon, Tapper went to the Institute News Daily (IND) building via the transportation platform. It was as expected. Tapper made it in but not the broadcasting team.
He had nearly been rejected altogether if not for a sudden unexpected rage quit from a newspaper team's side column writer. Seeing a newcomer applying, the boss of the newspaper team quickly pulled in Tapper as the new side column writer.
"...and there is the pencil sharpener if you like pencils. Paper is in the third drawer. Cameras are on the top shelf over there. You need to apply for those. Make sure to wear a uniform when going for interviews. Get one at the front desk. Questions?"
"I...."
"Good. Get started. Come up with an idea in five minutes and a title in ten." Holden, the boss patted Tapper and went to talk to another person.
Tapper was stumped.
He had no questions at all. He just didn't understand anything. What was going on?
Five minutes later, Holden came back.
"Your idea?"
Having no idea what to say, Tapper hesitated. Then he remembered the remarks Finan usually made as well as the ball comparison game played by Roman's friends…
He darkly muttered out the first thing in mind.
"Advice for Braindead Idiots?"
Holden blinked and made a thoughtful expression while tapping his chin.
Then he chuckled with a faraway look in his eyes.
"Actually… that is not a bad idea."
The rest of the time was spent on methods to promote how the column works.
Tapper even wrote a ridiculous advice-needing letter to himself before proceeding to give equally ridiculous advice in return.
And so, the side column Advice for Braindead Idiots, the ABI, was created.
[Dear ABI,
The other day, i lost my door keys and couldn't go home. I got them replaced. Today I lost them again. And it's the seventh time this month. What should I do?
Sincerely,
The key owner]
[Dear The key Owner,
Remove your door. Go through your window instead.
Sincerely,
ABI]
This column became really popular, really fast.
Tapper, with the help of his fellow newspaper team members, hid his identity. Only around five people knew who he was.
The mysterious ABI who was witty and humorous made it enjoyable to read.
Tapper often wrote the advice asking letters himself but slowly, more and more people started to write the letters as well. The side column became so popular that newspaper sales soared and the ABI was made into a separate page entirely.
ABI would often change its advice depending on the seriousness of the question.
The first serious sounding letter was…
[Dear ABI,
I suspect my girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend. I'm confused and sad. What should I do?
Sincerely,
Confused and Sad]
[Dear confused and Sad,
Confront her about it. Ask her if she needs to tell you something. This usually works as a muffler to defensive responses. Also, it might not be cheating, it might be that she is planning a surprise for you but wasn't too good at hiding it. Don't instantly think about the worst possibilities.
Sincerely,
ABI]
That one ended up because the girl only found out she was related to the best friend and trying to verify it secretly. It ended well with Confused and Sad sending a thanks to ABI.
Many people had been impressed with the way ABI suggested to solve that issue. That letter also introduced a wave of genuine advice asking rather than the humorous letters of the previous.
Some other letters were not too serious and rather lighthearted.
[Dear ABI,
My sister keeps on eating my food! I want to save it for later in the fridge. Help.
Sincerely,
Hungry brother.]
[Dear Hungry brother,
Finish your food! Food tastes best when freshly eaten. Or if you really get bothered, put your food in a locked container. She will try to open it the first few times but will eventually run out of patience. Or you can leave a spicy surprise once in a while, it will let her think twice.
Sincerely,
Also kinda hungry ABI]
Naturally the most stupid questions also made its way into the ABI…
[Dear ABI,
Homelessness is a prevalent issue that rocks the core of humanity and needs to be resolved. How would your honorable self suggest to tackle this problem?
Sincerely,
Kind citizen]
[Dear Kind Citizen,
If people are homeless, give them homes. Duh.
Sincerely,
ABI]
That letter would become the butt end of many jokes to come.
While Tapper was busy with the success of ABI, he also didn't forget to use the IND for his own motives. Everyone part of the IND all had some sort of a gossipy nature. It was extremely useful for him to fill up his notebook with information.
Other than that, the work that Finan had paid Tapper to do soon arrived. And in a heap. It left Tapper's eyebrows twitching violently.
'This… this…' Tapper swore violently.
'Damn you, Finan! You didn't mention that you didn't do your projects or research papers! Plus…
'Late work as well?! You have got to be kidding me!' Tapper screamed in frustration as he looked helplessly at the pile of work he needed to do for Finan.
'This is bad. There's no way I can do this alone. Argh. Fifty credits is totally not worth this.'
Tapper hurriedly whipped out the contacts of Gary and a few other friend he had made during this time.
[SOS. Need help finishing work. 2 credits per assignment. 10 credits for the project. 10 for the research paper.]
This was all he could do. There was really too much stuff that he couldn't handle.
Gary was the first to reply.
[You shot yourself in the foot. Give me two.]
Others were:
[Oh my god. What the hell is with the workload? I will do the research paper.]
[Damn, Poor you. Okay the project. I will submit two since I have extra material.]
[Ahaha. Tapper, it's Finan isn't it? I got time. Give me five.]
[I'm not even going to ask what happened. Three.]
[Two credits per assignment? Okay, I will take two. ]
Credits were worth much more than hard money which was why everyone had been so eager. It made Tapper wonder how rich Finan was.
'Shall I do a background inspection?'
But that could be saved for later.
Thankfully Tapper had gotten to know a lot of people from different circles. Otherwise, there was no way he could have finished everything.
'Let's see… two, eight, fourteen, thirty, forty…
'Forty four credits… leaves me… okay great. Six credits and one assignment. Not bad.'
Suddenly, the long dormant waves of coldness that had surged during the Executor entrance exam fluctuated.
But Tapper was sending out work and counting credits. He didn't notice at all.
_________
Tapper's secret notebook.
[Gary Mikken: Mikken member
Quiet but would be more active once familiar. Took on 2 assignments.]
[Finan:
Had to go somewhere. Hates nobles and believes in discrimination. Procrastination god of messy hair.]
[Holden: Institute News Daily (IND) newspaper-in-charge
Highly functional multitasking manager who can deal with sassy rage quits. Hired observer.]